Now that sartorially speaking the 80s revival is so over and the world’s now arguably ready to embrace the 90s again. Are we?

What were you doing 15 years ago, around this time in 1995? Think about it for a minute!

It’s 1995. Bosnian war is in full swing and deathtolls reaches 250 000. President Clinton’s government intervenes. Paris mayor Jacques Chirac is elected French president. ECU is a virtual currency and EURO-sceptics probably outnumber the rest of us. A 5000-pound car bomb blows up a federal office building in Oklahoma. The Islamic State of Afghanistan comes under attack by the Taliban. Meanwhile in Europe, Oasis and Blur fight the battle of Britpop. Sziget Fesztivál’s daily ticket price almost doubles to HUF 500 (today HUF 12 000). Tricky’s Maxinquaye is elected best album of the year by The Face (other short listed bands include Oasis, Pulp, Radiohead and Portishead, among others). We rent VHS cassettes to watch Seven and Usual Suspects, many others watch Toy Story and Braveheart. A Harvard graduate writes a memoire with the title “Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance”.

In continental Europe, in a small, mostly harmless Central European country the outlook for an exceptionally good vintage sees the emerging dominance of the “Villány 5″. Winmakers abuse oak in their wines, even Kékfrankos is being “barriqued” (we used the term as a verb back then). Their growing obsession for oak is a lasting romance (well into the new millennium) and tannin establishes itself as the official measurement unit of quality for years. A forest engineer also bets heavily on toasted barrels and blends Cabernet Sauvignon and Kékfrankos. 15 years on one of the bottles will land in the hands of an amateur wine enthousiast.

The Gere flagship wine from 1995 is a real time capsule, it captures the very essence of the Villány wine of the last decade. I finished off my modest collection of Royal Cuvées and other treasures years ago and they were not very good wines by then. This Gere wine isn’t particularily good either but I must admit I kind of miss those times a little. Oak is now out of fashion, Cabernet Sauvignon’s become Villány’s fallen angel (Cabernet Franc rules today with Merlot and inumerous blends) but Attila Gere is still the biggest brand in Hungary’s winemaking. And who knows, the 90s revival may be just around the corner.

I listened to Tricky’s Maxinquaye the other day on vinyl and it still sounds terrific. And so do Oasis, Pulp, Radiohead and all the other britpop bands too. I’m not so sure I’m ready for grunge and the party scene of the 90s though.

I just read an article about Vincze Béla quitting Pannon Bormíves Céh (an association best known for Pannon Bormustra, a yearly contest of wines). Apparently the same people who elected him the “best of” now made him resign from the elite. Is there anyone who takes these guys seriously? Do you?

This of course would be just another boring (and slightly unsellting, considering the point) press release of a group of winemakers representing probably 0,01% of Hungarian wine production which alone wouldn’t make me grab the keyboard. What upsets me really is this fingerpointing again, which I already complained about on these pages, and which occurs every f….n’ time you meet a Hungarian winemaker: innuendos about oversas techniques, complaining about the mass wines of the new world (even questioning whether these wines are actually made of wine grape), the winemakers being the devil itself. Like 99,99% of wines made in Hungary weren’t nearly unsuitable for human consumption. There are shops in Hungary where you can buy off-the-shelf all ingredients you need to make a decent looking Furmint or Olaszrizling without ever getting close to a cellar or a vine.

Will anyone every punch these guys in the face? Not to bleed their nose (I’m an orthodox pacifist, you see), just symbolically a little to wake them up. I mean, let’s take Heimann and Gere, two prominents of the Céh: are these guys really comparing their products with the cheapest imported wines, which cost half the price of their cheapest offering even after transportation cost from across the ocean, having went through all the chain of the importer, wholesaler, distributor and the retailer? Or are they suggesting that all Australian and Chilean wines are made in a process more similar to oil refinery? Are these guys ever going to learn to distinguish? Are these guys ever going to stop talking bullshit, fingerpointing and accusing others for their (non-existing) problems? If they’re unable to make profit then perhaps they should quit and go back to where they belong or they’re qualified for (forest engineering, in case of Gere, if I’m not mistaken) but I seriously doubt they have any problems, looking at the investments these guys have been making in the past 15 years, investing and reinvesting millions and millions of euros into buying new land, purchasing the newest technologies etc. I’m not taking about Györgykovács of course, but most of these guys made a fortune by making wine (let’s not talk about the ones here who lost a fortune by trying). Ofthen very questionable ones.

These guys should finally decide who they consider competitors, chose their peer group carefully where they feel like home ground and try to do their best and let the consumer decide. And stop blaming others for their non-existing misery.

This whole country is sick, I’m telling you. This story is, of course, just a snowflake on the tip of the iceberg.

What a modest title. I came up with it in only 1 minute of thinking. In my defense: it’s search-engine friendly and it’s true, from my perspective. Anyway, here’s the almost complete list of tasted wines and their score from 2008.

One remark, except the festival notes, all reviews were written based on at least 1/2 bottle of wine tasted by me alone over several hours, at least once over this period. Even wines presented in quick notes. Any occasional exception was mentioned in the given post, but they were maximum 2 or 3, if any.

Tasting Scores 2008

Wine Festival

Tasting Scores

But you wouldn’t tell. I must admit I opened these wines on a special occasion which also happened to be an open-air barbecue. So my notes are short and include an unusual level of uncertainty.

The aim is clear: how’s been the Gere Cabernet Sauvignon Barrique and Kopár Cuvéé (both from the classic 2000 vintage) evolved over the years. Bot were kept in cellar in equal conditions. Perhaps the Cabernet Sauvignon has a handicap for having spent few weeks in my apartment prior to moving to a proper place.

The review

Gere Attila – Cabernet Sauvignon Barrique, 2000

Dark ruby color with purplish reflections and a brick rim.

Typical cabernet and paprika nose with raspberry underpinning.

On the palate sour, robust tannins and acidity. In my memories this was a full-bodied wine but I had to wait an hour to recover that feeling. In the same time the tannin hydes behind the acidity. Overall the wine doen’t really improve in the decanter.

Too old, the sine hasn’t delivered the expected potential.

Score: 4/5-

Price: unavailable. 2005: HUF 4 300 / EUR 18

Gere Attila – Kopár Cuvée, 2000

Lively deep cherry color. It gets much much deeper with time.

Full-bodied wine with some residual sugar, round acidity and elegant, velvety tannins. On the palate intense chocolate flavor and sour cherry. Huge body. Merlot is dominant. Still fresh and lively.

The wine still has potential for at least a couple of years.

Score: 7+/8-

Price: unavailabe, or sky-high. Newer vintages range between HUF 7 000 and 9 000.